The colour shades of springs differ:
This is completely normal, because every spring supplier have different end-treatments for springs.
The colour of the spring has no influence on the quality or strength of a spring.
The springs vary in length and diameter:
The diameter or different lengths of springs in no way reflect the characteristics of the pull-out or contraction forces of a spring.
Some springs close/contract faster or slower than others:
The dampers are self-lubricating. Only after quite a number of open- and close-movements the lubrication properties are distributed evenly through out the whole damper cylinder – after which the dampers start equalising their speeds.
The door rebounds slightly on dampening:
This is normal with air-dampening. Air is compressed in a pressure chamber and let out via a valve at the bottom end of the damper. If the pressure is built up too fast by closing a door too fast or hard, the sudden high pressure creates a slight back-pressure that can be felt.
The door is not closing completely:
Check if the damper might have been damaged during shipping. Also check if the rollers on top of the door are malfunctioning or bent off axis – thereby affecting the glide or roll characteristics of the door and obstructing proper closing.
- Check the bottom track (rail/profile) and clean off any dirt, gravel or saw-dust.
- If the door is standing on an uneven or sloping floor or bottom track – it adds to the effective weight of the door and the spring might well be too weak to pull the door closed. If required, the spring can be replaced with a stronger model (whereby attention should be paid to the safety precautions).
- The trigger pin was mounted incorrectly (too far away from the doorjamb/wall). Please check the distance from the door to the doorjamb (wall).
- The damper is mounted incorrectly on the door. Please pay attention to the Installation Guide from the manufacturer.
- If the spring has been overstretched, it looses strength, will not contract properly and must be replaced. Please check the spring for damage.
The damper is not dampening properly:
Each and every OTIUM damper is subjected to a rigorous pressure test before leaving the factory. Only after passing this test a product will be cleared for shipping. Make sure that the damper (spring) was tensioned before installation.
- Trigger pin has been installed incorrectly (too close to the doorjamb). Due to this, the damper can not produce enough pressure to cushion the door weight. With correct installation and under normal speeds, the damper should start cushioning the door from at least 2 to 3cm away from the doorjamb.
- Trigger pin is too short (has been shortened too much), so much that the catch claw on the damper can not engage properly. This prevents the damper from being loaded (tensioned). The trigger pin must be at least 8mm long and should extend with at least 6mm into the catch claw (arm).
- The housing of the damper is broken or damaged. This leads to not enough or no pressure build up and therefor insufficient or no dampening.
- The door weight is too high for the specific damper installed. Please check if the weight classification on the damper packaging corresponds with the actual door weight.
- The speed or force when closing the door is too high. Please be aware that with a higher door weight closing speeds (force) should be adjusted. EU norms indicate that normal closing force or speed is between 0,3 and 0,4m/s for a door up to 50kg in weight. For doors weighing 50 to 100kg, 0,2 to 0,3m/s ist he norm. This would be how a person would normally close a door. Over 1m/s is classified as vandalism.
- When an adjustable damper has been installed, the setting screw has been over wound. In such a case building up pressure in the cylinder is not possible anymore.
Noises when closing the door:
A soft click sound is normal. This comes from the trigger pin clicking into the catch claw of the damper.
- With very loud noise it could be that the trigger pin is too short
(has been cut too short). - Could also be that a spring with a too high force rating (strength)
has been installed. - Might be that the trigger pin has been mounted incorrectly. Please pay attention to the details in the Installation Guide from the manufacturer.
The door tilts when being dampened:
It can occur that a specific damper and its dampening (cushioning) is too strong for a very light door (door weight under 10kg). In such a case the damper can be exchanged for the adjustable OTIUM model (ST60N), where the dampening force can be reduced down to 0 Newton – thus fine tuning the cushioning for the specific door.
- At too high closing speed (force) it can happen that light doors tilt, because the dampening pressure builds up faster than the damper can purge the pressure.
- With light doors (door weight under 10kg) the supplied spring can be exchanged for one that is lighter (has a weaker strength rating). Please contact the manufacturer for details.
- The damper can be exchanged for a new E2S model (Trigger pin must be adapted)
Too much force needed to tension (load or prime) the spring:
The springs are matched with dampers for specific weight ranges. They are rated such that they still function correctly, for the maximum weigh class of a door, after 40 000 closing cycles. When opening a door, a base force must be applied to load (tension) the spring. This might seem unfamiliar at first but is normal for the damper to function properly.
- If the force needed to open the door is still too high, the damper should be exchanged for one with a lower door weight rating.
- Please check that the weight range of the damper is suited for the specific door weight.
- If the opening force required is still too high, replace with a damper model which has a lower weight range or replace the spring with a weaker (lower elastic force rated) one.